Historic oilsands facility near Fort McMurray to get major renovations
'Bitumount is really the grand daddy of all oilsands plants in Alberta,' says official
Bitumount, Alberta's first oilsandsprocessing facility,has seen better days.
But this summer, the province will clean up some elements of the historical site, located about 90 kilometres north of Fort McMurray, before it succumbs to the boreal forest that surrounds it.
"Bitumountis really the granddaddy of alloilsandsplants in Alberta," said Matthew Wangler, executive director of the Historic Resources Management Branch. "It really traces the very early evolution ofoilsandsdevelopment in the province."
The province will hire a contractor to remove hazardous materials and buildings that have collapsed. That's asmall step towardpreserving this historic resource for a possible future as a museum and an interpretive centre, Wangler said.
Bitumount: Aquick history
- Located 90 kilometres north of FortMcMurray,along the Athabasca River
- Between 1925 and 1958, the site was an experimentaloilsandsplant and camp
- Built upon efforts in the1920sand1930sto release the oil trapped in the "bituminous" sands through the hot water method developedby theDr. Karl Clark of the Research Council of Alberta at the University of Alberta
- Plant was first developed by oilsandspioneer RobertFitzsimmons
- Taken over by investorLloyd Champion in 1942 with a deal from the Government Alberta to build a completely new facility
- The government closed the facility after it was able to demonstrate it was possible toseparateoil from theoilsandson a large scale commercial basis.
- Designated an historic resource in 1974.
Mercury,asbestosabatement
According to the provincial government's procurementwebsite, part of the project will need a clean up of toxic asbestos and mercury. Severalbuildings on the site will also need to be demolishedbefore the fall.
Thegarage, bunk house, dinning hall, lab and office havecollapsed and will be demolished in response to safety concerns.
Two other buildings,FitzsimmonsCabin and Staff Cabin, will remain intact and beremediatedfor asbestos.
Five other buildings the machine shop/warehouse, pump house, the steel shed, power house andseparation, and extraction plant contain trace elements of mercury and cannot be saved, according to the tender document.
"Those buildings have been in a very advanced state ofdeteriorationfor some time," Wangler said. "There has been some challenge with them because the materials that they were constructed from do not lend themselves to longterm preservation."
As the government is still going through the tender process, there is no final price tag yetfor the renovations.
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The future of the site
Wangler said the province has no immediate plans to create an interpretive centre or museum, but the renovations are a proactive step in that direction.
An interpretive centre, he said, would take considerable time to develop programs, displays, landscaping and parking for visitors.
Wangler said itwould take millions to developand it would likely require support from private donors.
Follow David Thurton, CBC'sFort McMurraycorrespondent, onFacebookandTwitter, or email him atdavid.thurton@cbc.ca
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